Tories urge Government to act on Greenpeace dioxin claims

"There remain too many uncertainties about the potential health effects of dioxin emissions from municipal incinerators for me to feel at all comfortable about this technology," he said.

"The Government should, as a matter of urgency, investigate the claims from Greenpeace about the impact of dioxins on children. If the precautionary principle means anything, it means not taking risks with our children's health.

"The Government must also address the allegations that the monitoring of dioxin and particulate emissions is patchy and superficial. If incineration is to have any future in waste disposal, these public concerns, and the scientific evidence that supports them, must be tackled head on.

"It was precisely because of these uncertainties that we proposed a moratorium on all new municipal incinerator plants during the last election. Judging by the latest evidence, nothing has moved on."